White House adviser Ivanka Trump is planning a four day long trip to Ivory Coast and Ethiopia this month to promote a global women’s initiative. The trip will be Ivanka Trump’s first visit to Africa since the White House undertook the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative in February.
According to the White House, Ivanka’s schedule includes a women’s economic empowerment summit in Ivory Coast as well as site visits and meetings with political leaders, executives and female entrepreneurs in both countries, reported Africa News.
She will be accompanied by Mark Green, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development. In the middle of the trip, they will be joined David Bohigian, acting president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and Kristalina Georgieva, interim president of the World Bank Group. OPIC provides loans, loan guarantees and political risk insurance, funding projects that stretch across continents and industries.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Ivanka said she was excited to travel to Africa to advance the effort.
The Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative involve the State Department, the National Security Council as well as other U.S. agencies. It aims to coordinate current programs and develop new ones to assist women in job training, financial support, legal or regulatory reforms and other areas.
Ivanka has made women’s economic empowerment a centerpiece of her White House portfolio. Her goal is to economically empower 50 million women in developing countries by 2025. She made a number of international trips in the past, with a focus on these issues, including to Japan and India.
Money for the effort will come through USAID, which initially set up a $50 million fund using already budgeted dollars. The president’s 2020 budget proposal requests $100 million for the initiative, which will also be supported by programs across the government as well as private investment. The White House spending plan would cut overall funding for diplomacy and development.
